Earth's Place in the Universe

  1. Planets

    Jupiter gets surprisingly complex new portrait

    NASA’s Juno spacecraft has sent back unexpected details about Jupiter, giving scientists their first close-up of this gas giant.

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  2. Space

    How the solar system’s tail disappeared

    A bubble envelops the planets and other material in the solar system. New data show it does not have a long tail but is round.

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  3. Tech

    Teens garner some $4 million in prizes at 2017 Intel ISEF

    Hundreds of teens collectively took home about $4 million in awards from the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair this week.

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  4. Physics

    After 30 years, this supernova is still sharing secrets

    It’s been 30 years since astronomers first witnessed the stellar explosion known as SN 1987A. Today, researchers are still learning from this cataclysmic phenomenon.

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  5. Space

    Scientists Say: Supernova

    When a star has too much mass, it can explode. The explosion is called a supernova.

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  6. Physics

    Eclipses come in many forms

    Eclipses are one of nature’s most awesome spectacles, and scientists have learned a lot by observing them and related celestial alignments — occultations and transits.

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  7. Space

    Cosmic mystery: Why are many galaxies dark?

    Dark galaxies went unnoticed until 2015. Since then, scientists have now found more than 1,000 — and there may be many, many more.

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  8. Planets

    How Earth got its moon

    How did our moon form? Scientists are still debating the answer. It may be the result of some one big impact with Earth — or perhaps many small ones.

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  9. Planets

    Analyze This: The masses of planets

    Scientists discovered a solar system with planets that are similar in size and mass to Earth. Using data, we take a closer look at that similarity.

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  10. Science & Society

    Cool Jobs: Reaching out to E.T. is a numbers game

    From figuring out if we’re alone in the universe, to writing messages to aliens, scientists use math in many ways in their search for extraterrestrial intelligence.

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  11. Planets

    Scientists Say: Dwarf planet

    Dwarf planets are distinct from the full-size models. A little too small, they also have a lot of space stuff filling their path around the sun.

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  12. Animals

    Cool Jobs: A world aglow

    Three scientists probe how the natural world makes light, in hopes of using this information to design new and better products.

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